To freeze or not to freeze
by Blackswan15
Summary: How many times did you watch Yona freeze up and think "just move girl!" She is always stunning when she acts on instinct. Here's how I think she could have acted in some of those moments. Series of unrelated one shots.
1. Chapter 1

A red haze blurred his vision, blood lust descending on him as he faced his former best friend. The man he had loved and hoped to serve until the day he died. He could barely hear the raised voices around him over the pounding in his own ears. He wanted nothing more than to strike down the man in front of him for his betrayal. Even more than that though, he wanted to end him for all the pain he had caused his beloved princess.

"Don't you know what you did to her you bastard!" He shouted, struggling desperately against whoever it was holding him back. "She looked like a lifeless doll for days. Only eating when I forced her, only walking when I pulled her along by the hand. You destroyed her world! How could you to that to the girl who loved you more than anything? If you wanted to be King so badly, why didn't you marry her?!"

Suddenly red hair blocked his view and amethyst eyes captured his gaze.

"Hak," she ordered firmly. "Enough!"

"But princess!" he started. "No. I need you to stand down Hak."

"I can't do that princess! You are in danger with him here!"

Turning from him, she looked over his shoulder at one of the men holding him back.

"Jae-Ha. Take him away as far as you can. We will meet up with you as soon as possible."

Hak had started struggling and shouting even more, but they spoke over him.

"Are you sure Yona-Chan?" He questioned. "Will you be safe?"

"The others will protect me. We will find you soon."

Nodding his assent, Jae-Ha tightened his grip on Hak and leaped into the air and out of sight.

Turning to Shin-Ah, Yona questioned, "Can you see them?" He mutely nodded and pointed in the direction they had gone. Yona returned the nod in relief.

Returning to the matter at hand, Yona and the others turned back to Soo-Won and his attendants who were controlling their expressions of shock at seeing them disappear in such a way with varying degrees of success. Yona couldn't help the half smile that crept onto her face for a moment seeing that even Soo-Won had lost a bit of his composure. It faded quickly though as the awful memories rose up once more.

"We will be going then," she stated and began walking away, Yun and the others following after her.

"Wait!" Joo-Doh yelled, finally rousing from his stupor brought on both by his wounds received at the hands of the Raiju, and the shock at seeing another man seemingly fly away carrying said man with him.

The princess stopped and turned slightly, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"What makes you think we will let you leave. Particularly after the way the king was so brutally attacked?" He paused briefly as though trying to keep the next question in. "And how could that man fly away with Raiju? Does he possess sorcery?"

Yona half smiled again and replied "Nothing can chain down my Ryokuryuu. He is free to go where he pleases. I am grateful he has chosen to stay by my side."

Soo-Won and Joo-Doh both gasped quietly, recognized the green dragon's name from the founding myths. As closely guarded, and forbidden, as the story had been after Prince Yu-Hon had driven the priests from the castle, they were the only two to recognize it. Both still bore slightly skeptical looks though, even with the proof having disappeared right in front of them.

Yona's face suddenly became more stern as she glared at the men. "It was quite understandable that he reacted the way he did and you know it. You killed Chichiue in front of me and then tried to have Hak and I killed as we fled the castle."

She heard Lili gasp in shock at her revelation off to the side and felt Yun and her remaining dragons tense in preparation for whatever was coming next. Soo-Won had replaced his emotionless mask and Joo-Doh stepped forward a pace in anger, his sword raised.

"You are also in no position to stop us leaving, as even without Hak and Jae-Ha, Shin-Ah and Kija are still very formidable fighters and Zeno and Yun will do what it takes for us to all get out alive. I'm not the spoiled naive little girl I used to be Soo-Won. I too will do whatever it takes for all of us to leave safely."

Her eyes were almost hypnotic. The flames that seemed to blaze in them drawing everyone in and holding them under her control. Soo-Won had never before seen her like this. There was no doubt that she had grown into someone he barely even recognized in her months of exile. He had no doubt that she and her group could indeed defeat them as she claimed. As much as he may wish things could have gone differently, he still hadn't achieved his goal. After all the sacrifices he had made, of which giving up Yona and Hak had been the hardest, he couldn't die until he had succeeded in bringing the kingdom into an era of strength and peace. If he didn't make it, then losing them wouldn't have meant anything. He had to make it worth it, and then maybe, hopefully, after his goal was achieved, he could hand over the kingdom to her and accept whatever punishment she deemed fit. He hadn't been sure she would ever be able to rule, but in that moment, seeing the fire in her eyes, he could see it. See her on the throne as a good ruler. Not one that would let the kingdom fall into ruin like her father.

He inclined his head for her to take her leave and she returned the gesture. She approached Lili and pulled her into a tight hug, promising to stay in touch, and then turning away from him, lead her small group down the street in the direction the strange man in the mask and wig had pointed.

"Why did you just let them leave?!" Shouted Joo-Doh, moving to chase after them.

"Let them be," Soo-won ordered. "The time is not yet right. We will see them again.

He let himself gaze after them for a moment, a quiet wish in the hidden depths of his heart that he too could follow after her. Shaking off the maudlin thought, he turned to his loyal general.

"Come, there is much work still to be done."

And with that, he turned in the opposite direction of the girl who had brought so much light into his life and continued on his mission. The air general following grumbling behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"This was actually the first story I got the idea for, but I can't seem to get it out quite the way I want it to. I hope it comes across ok. I've taken some artistic license with this one. I know the dragons can feel each other's location, but I don't remember them getting a sense of what the others feel. I like the thought that they can not only feel each other a bit more, but that they can feel Yona, as Hiryuu's reincarnation, as well. This takes place right after the battle of Awa. Constructive criticism is always welcome. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;""Yona"/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;""Soo-Won," she breathed. She was in shock. Frozen in fear. She had to be. There was no other reason why she wasn't fighting, or at least running as fast as she could in the other direction. Why was he here? She was on the other side of the kingdom, far away from the capital. They had just had their first major victory. Was he coming to ruin this too? Just when her life was started to come back together again, he came sweeping in again to knock her feet back out from under her. Was she not allowed happiness? He started to reach for her, but she flinched away, her mind flashing back to his sword running through her dear Chichiue. He was speaking, but it was nothing more than a distant murmur, unintelligible and incomprehensible./span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Hak flashed through her mind. Oh how she wished he were here with her. But wait... No... She couldn't always depend on Hak to save her. She couldn't let Hak see Soo-Won and cause him even more pain. What could she do though? How could she get out of this? She had no weapon. No way to defend herself, and even if she did, Soo-Won had many years of training she couldn't possibly overcome. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"She heard quick, heavy footsteps coming their way and turned to run. She didn't even get a full step before her arm was grabbed and Soo-Won's long full cape swept around her, blanketing her in his familiar warmth and smell. What?... Why?... If he wanted to kill her, why hide her? If he didn't, why try at the palace? Does this mean he didn't want to kill her? She caught a glimpse of his sword. Blood soaked memories assaulted her yet again. His heart pounded beneath her ear, almost fast enough to complete with the humming bird her own had become. Reaching for the beautiful weapon, she pictured it going through his heart. His hand stopped her though and she froze as she heard him mention Yang Keum-Ji and the human trafficking. So that's why they were here. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"She wished even one of her companions were here with her. Yun was even younger than her though, and, while he was most certainly a genius, had no desire to fight. She couldn't ask him to save her, even if he was here. Kija and Shin-Ah were both very good fighters and definitely able to protect her, but what of Soo-Won's companions? She could hear General Joo-Doh, but how many others were there? Were there any she knew from around the palace? She may not have been close to Joo-Doh, but could she bare to watch him and the others die at the hands of her protectors? The traffickers and mercenaries were one thing. They were harming her people. She didn't know why Joo-Doh and the others had chosen to side with Soo-Won, but apparently she didn't even understand that situation anymore, what with him hiding her and being there to stop Yang Keum-Ji. Plus, even if she had a way to call them, could they get here in time? That left only her newest dragon. The beautiful Ryokuryuu, Jae-Ha. He may not wish to join her, and she would never try to order him, but she felt the connection regardless. If only he were here.../span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"XXXXXXXXXXXXX/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Down by the docks, amidst all the feasting and revelry, the green dragon suddenly looked up, a sliver of unease trickling down his spine. He looked around, but nothing seemed out of place. However, he'd relied on his instincts too long, and they had saved his life to many times, for him to consider discounting them now. He spotted Hak across the way and wove through the festive crowd to reach him. He'd never met another man he could respect and admire quite like him. Only the Captain had held it before now. He couldn't deny what he'd seen in the younger man though, and trusted in his instinct too. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;""Hak" he intoned as he approached. Hak turned away from his companion towards Jae-Ha, vestiges of carefree laughter on his face. He took in Jae-Ha's serious expression and sobered instantly. "What is it?" He asked, dropping into general mode. "I'm not sure," the green haired man replied, "but something doesn't feel right. Do you feel it too?" Hak glanced around, scanning the area with his diligent eyes. "Nothing looks amiss, but I don't see Yona-Hime anywhere. She may have just wandered off to get some quiet, but I feel it too. Will you help me search for her?" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Jae-Ha nodded once and then leapt into the sky. Houses passed far beneath him as his sharp eyes searched the streets for her. He caught sight of a group of men he hadn't seen before and landed silently on the nearest rooftop to spy on them. Warily, he watched the soldiers leave and turned his gaze back to the beautiful man in white. What can he say, he admires beautiful things wherever they may be, and in whatever form too. Suddenly the young man unwraps his cloak, and to his shock, there stands Yona. He's never seen her like this, frozen in terror. Not even on the cliffs leading to Cape No Return. Then at least, she kept moving forward, even through her tears. He had watched only this morning as she had stood tall and strong against the dawn and shot true, killing the man that had been plaguing this town for years. The man reached forward to gently cup her face and as she flinched slightly, Jae-Ha couldn't stand it any longer. Pushing himself off the roof, he landed softly behind Yona and pulled her into a protective embrace. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;""Who are you and what have you done to my Yona Chan?" While he may have used a pleasant tone, he was fingering one of his daggers in a vaguely threatening manner. The man in front of him seemed shocked. Not an unusual reaction actually when others first saw his power. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"When the man didn't speak, he turned gently to his young master... no, not master... he had no master... and yet... She was clinging to him tightly, eyes squeezed shut, trying desperately to shut out what ever was causing her so much terror. "Yona Chan," he asked gently, "are you all right?" "Jae-Ha." Her voice trembled slightly. "You came for me?" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;""I did." He didn't know what else to answer. It brought up questions he hadn't completely come to terms with yet. Wanting to follow her, but not wanting to be chained to a master. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"His answer seemed to calm her somewhat and she was able to loosen her grasp and look up at him. The younger man also had shaken off his shock and started towards them. "Who are you?" He asked. "And how did you get here?" /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Yona turned towards him still keeping a hand curled in the soft fabric of Jae-Ha's sleeve. It seemed to ground her somewhat. "This is Jae-Ha, and he's my friend." A hint of defiance crept into her voice, just a glimpse of the strength he'd seen in her this morning, but it was there once more. Slowly fanning back to full brightness as her courage returned to her. "Jae-Ha, this is my cousin Soo-Won, the new king. He killed my Chichiue in front of me and then tried to kill me. Hak saved me and we fled." /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Jae-Ha instantly pulled her closer to him and stepped into a more defensive position. Soo-Won spoke then. "I know you must want to kill me Yona, but I can't die yet. I still have things I must do." "Yona Chan. What do you want me to do?" "Take me away Jae-Ha. Please. He killed Chichiue and drove me from my home, but he protected me today. I don't understand. I'm too confused. Please, let's just leave." /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Picking her up gently into his arms he turned back towards the king. "For Yona's sake, I hope we don't meet again," and with that he leapt skyward, carrying the young princess far away, not bothering to spare a glance behind him. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"Soo-Won stared after him for a moment, possibilities flashing like quicksilver through his head, before shaking them off firmly and turning to rejoin his guards. "We'll stay one more night," he thought. "Maybe we can find out more about the slave trade and the battle tomorrow."/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/span/p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545; min-height: 22.7px;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;" /p  
p style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 19px; line-height: normal; font-family: '.SF UI Text'; color: #454545;"span style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 19pt;"The following day as Soo-Won and his guards slipped into town, they passed a group of inhabitants talking about the battle and some visitors. "So she left with them? I thought she was too cute to be a pirate." One of the older girls stepped forward a bit. "She may look cute, but she's as strong as any soldier. She's the one who took down Yang Keum-Ji. All she needed was one arrow. It was one of the best shots I've ever seen!" His guards may not have understood the significance, but Soo-Won spun towards the girl, shocked speechless for the second time in as many days. Only one thought ran through his head. "Just what happened to her these last few months!"/span/p 


End file.
